Brown-backed Scrub-Robin Cercotrichas hartlaubi Scientific name definitions

15 cm; 17–20 g. Relatively small scrub-robin; moves tail constantly. Has crown to upperparts dark brown, greyer on mantle and scapulars, dark grey-brown wings with double white wingbar , dull rufous rump and basal two-thirds of tail, latter terminally dark brown with white tips; white supercilium, subocular crescent, submoustachial and chin to throat , with dark brown cheek, greyish malar extending to breast, breast mottled greyish-buff, shading to white on belly to vent; bill black, legs greyish-pink. Sexes similar, male larger. Juvenile is like adult, but streaked orange-brown above, scaled dusky below.

SE Nigeria (Gashaka-Gumti National Park) and C & S Cameroon; NE DRCongo E to C Kenya and S to Burundi and NW Tanzania; and small isolated population in NW Angola (S Uíge, Cuanza Norte).

Song, commonly from exposed perch (sometimes in flight), often by both pair-members in duet, a loud, variable series of cheerful whistled phrases such as “cher-wiii ter, cher-wiii ter tu” and “keyup chiichii wiiiiuu chuprep wiiiiuu chuprep”, often persistently repeated, and often with succession of trilled syllables interpolated; female in duet uses simpler phrases, e.g. “sii-lit-sii, chiii-why, lit-sii, sii-sii”. Considered sweeter but less diverse than song of C. leucophrys. Calls include “piri” or “pri-prit” in anxiety during brood- feeding.